Chandler in Love
by sky3427
Summary: Chandler has fallen for the white haired girl, Linka Loud.
1. Chapter 1

It was the end of a long school week; Chandler McCann was relieved it was over. He put his stuff in his locker, grabbed his backpack and put it on his back. He looked down the hallway and there she was again, a girl with white hair wearing an orange blouse and blue skirt, walking to her locker to get her belongings. He didn't know who she was, just that she was in the other fifth-grade class, with some other kids he did know. Thoughts of talking to her came to mind many times but, for some reason, he couldn't muster the words. It was strange, he was considered one of the coolest kids in school and had talked to plenty of girls why was this different?

"Chandler!" a voice called.

"Huh?" the red-haired boy asked.

"Are you coming to Gus'?" Trent asked.

"Nah, I have somewhere else to be," he replied.

"Really, where?"

"I'm getting Zombie Hunter 5."

"It just came out today, and it was sold out."

"I know, that's why I pre-ordered, just got to pick it up."

"Dang it, well you have to let me play it with you."

"Sure, after I try it tonight."

There she was again, the white-haired girl, at the video game store. He watched as she was given a copy of "Zombie Hunter 5". "Does she like video games too?" he thought. Up at the checkout, he showed his receipt and got his video game copy. As timing would have it, he ended up bumping into the white-haired girl.

"Look where you're going…" he started to say but then noticed who he was talking to.

"You bumped into me you know," she said.

"I'm sorry," he stammered.

"Hey, you're Chandler," she said.

"Yeah, I've seen you around, you're Laura, right?"

"No, it's Linka."

"Linka, I should remember that you're in Johnson's class with Jordan."

"I see you have Zombie Hunter as well," Linka replied.

"Yeah, yeah, so you are going to play it? he asked.

"Hopefully, if none of my brothers disturb me," she replied.

"You have brothers?"

"Yeah, 10 of them," Linka replied.

He laughed, thinking she was joking about having 10 brothers. That's an absurdly large number to even be possible.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"You were kidding about having ten brothers, right?", he questioned.

"No, I'm not joking," she replied.

Chandler's cheeks went red.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's alright, guess it's not every day someone says they have 10 siblings," she said.

"Are you heading home?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah."

"Do, you mind if I walk with you?"

Externally, Chandler looked composed and cool, internally he thought he was on fire. He just asked to walk her home like he was in some 50's sitcom, do people even do that anymore? Could she through him and knew how nervous he was?

"Are you alright?" Linka asked.

He didn't hear her at all as he had long drifted away from reality. "Chandler!" He heard that.

"Yeah, I was thinking of something, guess I got lost in thought," he said.

"Well, let's go," she said.

"Go where?"

"To my house; you wanted to walk with me."

"Yeah, let's go."

Linka seemed to be more talkative than Chandler she started talking to him about her math test and somethings her friends did that day. Chandler mostly paid attention, she was making it easy for him rather than him trying to make conversation himself. The things he did notice was that she had a light scent of mango radiating from, a chipped front tooth, and liked to talk while moving her arms a lot.

"We're here," she said.

The redhead looked turned his head and saw her house. It wasn't fancy or impressive looked like it needed a lot of work, but maybe having 11 kids living there meant that it would be that way.

"Do you play video games with your brothers?" he asked.

"No, none of them seem interested in video games, surprisingly," she sighed.

"That is surprising, I would have thought at least one," Chandler replied.

"I usually play with Clyde," she replied.

"Who is Clyde, is he your boyfriend?" Chandler asked.

"No way! He's just my best friend," Linka said.

"Guess, we're too young for that stuff anyway," Chandler said.

"Sadly, he's gone away for the weekend with his Dads."

It was like Chandler's mind disconnected from his mouth again when he asked, "Hey, tomorrow I'm free, we could play together if that's alright?" He didn't want to ask that but, it was out now.

"Sure, you can come by anytime tomorrow," she said.

"Yeah that sounds great," he blurted.

When he collapsed back into full reality, he realized that he just said he would come to Linka's house to play the game. He couldn't backtrack now; he'd hurt her feelings and her brothers would find out and having ten guys mad at you for hurting their sister's feelings is dangerous.

"See, you tomorrow then," he said.

Once again, he made to the Loud House there was a boy wearing overalls with no shirt and a red hat, in the front yard playing in the dirt. Obviously, it was one of Linka's brothers, a younger one. The boy got up from his spot and walked over to Chandler.

"Hey, are you one of Linka's friends?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am, are you her brother?" Chandler asked.

"Yep, Leif Loud", he said.

He reached out his hand for Chandler to shake, which the redhead did and felt the dirt transfer on to his hand. He grimaced but, didn't do anything to cause insult to Leif, not wanting to cause any problems with any other Louds.

"She's inside," Leif replied.

"Thanks," Chandler said.

The fifth-grader walked up to the door and opened it. Inside the house was as loud as one would expect a house with 13 people living inside to be. There he saw Linka sitting on the floor playing video games in the living room.

"Hey Linka, I made it," he said.

"Hi Chandler, glad you could make it, ready to play?" she asked.

"Yeah sure," he replied.

Lynn ran down the stairs looking for his gym bag, he had a big game that day and needed it. "Mom!" he yelled. There he noticed the redheaded boy with his younger sister playing the game.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Linka paused the game and both of them looked over at the boy. Lynn seemed to be in a defensive mode: hands clinched, back arched, and a scowl on his face.

"Lynn calm down, it's just Chandler," Linka said.

"Chandler?" Lynn questioned.

"Yeah, he's from school," Linka replied.

Lynn straightened his back and relaxed his fists, still no smile on his face.

"Does he speak?" Lynn asked.

Chandler gulped, "Y-Yes," he said.

He didn't smile or frown too not give off any sense of emotion just in case. Lynn reached out his hand for Chandler to shake. He reached out to the older's brother hand and grabbed it to shake it.

"Woah, you have a strong handshake," he replied, "Even though you are nervous."

"Thanks, I guess," Chandler replied.

"You can relax, I'm not going to hurt you," Lynn said.

"I wasn't scared," Chandler said.

"You can let go of my hand," Lynn replied.

The boy complied and released Linka's older brother's hand.

"Chandler, this is one of my older brothers, Lynn," Linka replied.

Lynn was smiling and seemed no longer ready to knock Chandler into the next week.

"Nice to meet you, Chandler, so do you play any sports?" Lynn asked.

"Uhh, I played hockey in 3rd grade," Chandler replied.

"In speaking of sports, Linka, have you seen Mom and Dad?" Lynn asked.

"Check their room," Linka said.

"Thanks, Sis," he said.

Linka looked over at Chandler and patted him on the back. Chandler liked how that felt but was also still slightly shaking.

"Sorry about that, he gets excited before he goes to his games," Linka said.

"I'm alright," Chandler replied.

"Good thing, I paused the game, see what I mean by being interrupted?"

The redhaired boy returned his focus back to the game. He noticed how much Linka was enthralled by the game; he wasn't used to seeing that. Her focus was on the game, her eyes didn't seem to blink or change direction, and her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth.

"Looks like you died, Chandler," she said.

"Dang it, guess they made this version harder," he lied.

Chandler looked away and saw a boy wearing a crown, cape, white longsleeved shirt, gray pants, and boots walking out of the kitchen with a juice box.

"Hey, you changed clothes," he said.

"What? Who are you?" the boy said.

"That's not Leif, that's his twin brother, Lexx," Linka explained.

"So, who's this?" Lexx asked.

"Lexx, this is Chandler, he's a guy from school," Linka said.

"Oh, our little Linka is growing up, she has a boyfriend," Lexx said.

"Cut it out, we're friends, and don't you see you are embarrassing him," Linka said.

Chandler didn't even hear anything after "boyfriend" the thought of being her boyfriend. Wouldn't that be fun?

"He doesn't talk much does he?" Lexx asked.

"He must be nervous around people he doesn't know," Linka said.

"Hey snap out of it!" Lexx yelled.

"Uhhh, I was paying attention," he said.

"Yeah right," Lexx said.

"Good luck on your pageant today," Links said.

"Like I need it," Lexx replied with sarcasm and confidence.

"He does beauty pageants?" Chandler asked.

"Oh you think it's weird, a boy does beauty pageants?" Lexx said.

The boy walked up to Chandler's face and grabbed his collar. Chandler gulped. He could swear that Lexx's eyes were literal fire and was snorting steam from his nose.

"No, I don't," he squeaked.

"Lexx, let him go!" Linka yelled.

"I'm not going to let him get away with it," Lexx replied.

"He wasn't saying that you're weird," Linka said.

"I've just haven't known boys did beauty pageants," Chandler said in a strained voice.

Lexx let him go.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Lexx said.

Chandler breathed in relief.

"It's harder for boys to be in pageants, you know?" Lexx said, "Girls have it easier with their pick of clothes I have to strain to think up something new that will impress."

"I think you'll do fine," Chandler said.

Lexx smiled and hugged the redhead.

"Thanks, sorry if I scared you," Lexx said.

"It's alright," Chandler replied.

Rita walked out of her room and saw Lexx, Chandler, and Linka in the living room and came over.

"Lexx, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"I've been ready," Lexx answered.

"Good, we are leaving soon," Rita said.

The mother turned her attention to the red-haired boy who looked like he was about to faint.

"Hello, are you a friend of Linka's?" she asked.

"Yes, I am ma`am," he said quietly.

"Well nice to meet you, I'm Mrs. Loud," she replied.

"Oh uh, I'm... Chandler," he said.

"Linka, I need to you to watch Leif, Levi, and Lars, while I'm out," she said.

"Alright Mom, Chandler and I just going to be playing video games," Linka said.

"That's my girl, now there are snacks in the kitchen," Rita said.

"Mom!" Lane called.

"What is it, Lane?" Rita asked.

"Have you seen my bow tie?" he asked.

"Did you check your drawer?" Rita yelled.

"Yeah," Lane said.

"Here I come," she said.

Lexx stepped away from the living room to finish getting ready for his pageant. Linka stood up to fix her blouse and skirt.

"Sorry about the interruptions," she said.

"It's alright; you have a large family," Chandler replied.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Linka asked.

"Sure, anything is fine," he said.

"I'll be right back then," she replied.

He did consider following Linka to the kitchen but waited instead. At least it was quiet for a second. He heard someone come down the stairs and he turned his head. There was a boy with a brown bowl cut, wearing a bow tie, yellow shorts, and a white shirt, who appeared.

"Hello there, " Lane went.

"Me?" Chandler asked.

"Yes, you silly," Lane said.

Chandler stood up and figured this was another of Linka's brothers.

"I haven't seen you around here before, are you one of Linka's friends?" Lane asked.

"Yes, I'm Chandler," he said.

"Chandler, interesting name, well aren't you going to shake my hand?" Lane asked.

Chandler grabbed Lane's hand and felt a shock causing him to release his quickly. The Loud boy laughed.

"You seem a little shocked, get it?"

Chandler nervously laughed along.

"I'm Lane, by the way, Linka's brother."

"Nice to meet you," Chandler said with apprehension.

Lynn Sr. came out of his room and yelled for Lane, Lynn, and Lexx to get to Vanzilla to get going.

"Dad, I'm right here," Lane said.

"Oh, and who's your friend?" he asked.

"This is Linka's boyfriend," Lane joked.

"Lane, you scaring the poor boy," Lynn Sr. said.

"He does look a little pale," Lane replied.

"Find your brothers and mother, so we get going," Lynn Sr. said.

Chandler looked at the man who appeared friendly and somewhat worn out. He smiled but not too much to look creepy. Lynn Sr. walked over and put his hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"So, you're a friend of Linka's ?" the father asked.

"Yeah, we just spoke to each other yesterday," Chandler revealed.

"That's usually how it goes, she makes friends quite easily," Lynn Sr. said.

Chandler didn't respond.

"Lynn, are you ready?" Rita asked.

"Oh yeah, here I come, was just talking to Chandler here," he replied.

"Come on, Dad, I can't be late," Lexx said.

"Well it's been nice meeting you, be good to my daughter, I don't want to have to kill you," Lynn Sr. joked.

On the other hand, Chandler didn't see the joke and only laughed as a protective measure. They were gone so, he sat down waiting for Linka to return. How long does it take to get something to drink? Cliff, the family cat, walked over and rubbed against Chandler. "Hey there," Chandler said. He petted the cat who collapsed, letting Chandler continue to pet him. It seemed that Charles. the family dog had gotten jealous and wanted some of this action. The dog came over and sat at Chandler's feet. Chandler gulped, "Nice dog," he whispered. Charles got up and started sniffing him then whimpered. The guy mustered up the courage to pet the canine. This caused Geo, the hamster, and Walt, the canary, to appear and wanted some love.

"I'm back," Linka replied.

She was holding two cans of rootbeer. There were a bunch of animals hanging around Chandler, she chuckled.

"Looks like the pets like you," she said.

"Yeah," he said.

"Alright guys, that's good," Linka said.

The pets seemed to understand what she said because they left. Linka handed Chandler a rootbeer and sat down with him.

"Sorry, I was gone so long, I was helping Lexx find his fancy belt," she replied.

"It's alright," he answered.

They proceeded to play the game some more and for a while, there were no interruptions. Chandler got more relaxed and as long as he didn't get distracted by Linka he was doing well in the game.

"Linka," a deep voice said.

Both Linka and Chandler jumped up. Chandler almost lost his rootbeer. A boy was wearing a black shirt over a white and black striped shirt, dark pants, and had hair covering his eyes, was standing next to Linka.

"Linka, do you have a word that rhymes with heart?" Lars asked.

"Try cart," Linka said.

"Everything I do it's better with you, you make my heart roll like a cart," Lars said.

"Good poem, Lars," Linka said.

"Thanks," he replied.

"This is my friend, Chandler," Linka said.

"Hey,' Lars said.

"Hey Lars, I think I've seen you around the school," Chandler said.

"I've seen and heard you around school," Lars said.

What did he mean by that? Chandler wondered. Well, he wasn't going to ask more. Lars walked away to return to more writing. Linka her friend continued to play Zombie Hunter. Twenty minutes later, Chandler felt something poking his left arm. The answer is another Loud sibling, this one with short brown hair, glasses, wearing a lab coat, green gloves, and salmon pants, poking Chandler with a needle.

"What the heck?!" Chandler said.

"Levi, what are you doing?" Linka asked.

"Pardon me, dear sister and friend, I was just collecting samples," he said.

"You aren't supposed to experiment on my friends, without their permission," Linka said.

"Do you mind if, I take a blood sample?" Levi asked.

"Yes, I do," Chandler said.

The four-year-old mini scientist sighed in defeat.

"Nobody appreciates scientific discovery," Levi said.

He walked away in defeat.

"Sorry about that, Levi, is a child prodigy and is smarter than anyone in the world, but he doesn't understand personal space," Linka stated.

"So, he didn't put anything I should know about; into my system right?" Chandler asked.

"Probably not," Linka said.

The redhead rubbed his arm still feeling funny from the pinch. He pulled his sleeve back down and sighed. The white-haired girl frowned.

"Guess, you want to leave now," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"A lot of people run off once Levi tries to experiment on them," Linka said.

If he wanted to leave, she was offering him an out a chance to as such. Linka was still frowning, her eyes seemed to be glassy was she going to cry? He liked Linka's face her freckles were cute.

"Trust me, If I was going to leave; I would have left when that one brother grabbed me by the collar," he said.

"You're staying?" she asked.

"That's what I said," Chandler replied.

Linka smiled and hugged Chandler. The boy felt her warmth and smelled her mango scent and both ways his nose felt funny. Was he bleeding from the nose? He backed up and covered his nose.

"I'll be right back, I've to go to the bathroom," he said.

"It's upstairs, down the hall," Linka said.

"Thanks," the boy said as he ran upstairs.

After a few hours of playing, Chandler had gotten a call from his mother to come home. He told Linka, he had to go. She saved the game and turned it off.

"Chandler, I'll drive you home, you shouldn't be walking alone when it's getting late," Rita said.

"Thanks, Mrs. Loud," Chandler said.

"I had fun," Linka said.

"Me too, we should hang out again," he replied.

"Yeah, we should go to Gus' Games and Grub", she said.

"I'll buy us pizza," he said.

The two kids waked outside, while they waited for Rita to come outside. Unknown to them, in the window 20 eyes were staring at them.

"Thanks again for coming by, Chandler," Linka replied.

"It was no problem, your family is interesting," Chandler replied.

"Thanks for staying, even when they bothered you, that was really sweet of you," she said.

Chandler smiled.

"I never thought one of the coolest boys in school would spend a day with me," she said.

"You are cool, yourself," Chandler replied.

"I like you Chandler," she said.

Then, by surprise, he felt her lips on his cheek, she had kissed him! He didn't know how long he had stood there, it could have been there for years or seconds - both felt the same. Eventually, he snapped out of it when he realized Mrs. Loud was calling him. She had kissed him, that's all he remembered on the ride home.


	2. Chapter 2

_** Hello, I wasn't sure If I was going to have this story as a one shot or continue it. Then I got a little idea for second chapter. If I think or something for Chapter 3 then I'll update this more. Also, If anyone has an idea that might be helpful as well. Thanks! **_

* * *

Chandler cleaned his room, it was a not a normal occurrence, but this wasn't a normal day. A guest was coming to his home; he had worked the nerve to ask Linka over to play video games. It would be less stressful at his house than it was at Linka's with her ten brothers. The doorbell rang, and he opened it.

"Hey, Linka, are you ready to...?" Chandler asked.

Linka had brought a friend with her. Chandler had seen Clyde before; he seemed to hang around Linka like a friend.

"Hi Chandler, thanks for inviting us over," Linka replied.

"So, who's your friend?" Chandler asked.

"You never met, Clyde, he's my best friend," she answered.

"Hey, Chandler," Clyde said.

"Yep, we are so close people call us Clinka McCloud," Linka said.

"That sounds like a couples' name, " Chandler thought.

Chandler let them in and pointed them to the den. Chandler's house had a whole room that looked like a games room. There was a foosball table, dartboard, a television with three different video game systems, a shelf full of video games, another shelf full of board games, and more stuff.

"Wow, this room is awesome," Linka said.

"Yeah, it looks like you have everything," Clyde said.

"So, what game do you want to play first?" Chandler asked.

"Well it is your house, you should pick," Clyde said.

Chandler grabbed a game from the shelf and asked, "How about Arrgh!: The Video game?"

"Yeah!" Linka and Clyde said in synch.

"Well, have a seat, I have to find batteries for the third controller," Chandler replied.

When Linka walked passed him, he could smell Linka's coconut body wash on her. He tuned out the world and thought of Linka on the beach drinking out of a coconut.

"Chandler? Are you alright?" Clyde asked.

Chandler saw his den again and nodded.

"I'll be right back," he said.

In a different room, he looked in the battery case for a couple of rechargeable double-As.

"Clyde is probably her boyfriend; she's too cute not have boys who like her," he thought.

He grabbed two batteries and walked back to the den.

"Alright, I got 'em," he said.

He sat on the left of Linka, while Cylde was on the right. Not looking at her directly, helped him stay focused but, he couldn't help but look at Clyde. Was he her type? Maybe, she liked boys who wore glasses.

"This game is great; it's just like the show!" Linka said.

"Yeah, it's like being actual ghost hunters," Clyde said.

"They both like Arrgh! , as well, don't be stupid, everyone likes that show," Chandler thought.

The red-head entertained his guests by getting them some colas and snacks. He hoped Linka saw him as gentlemanly and kind.

"Chandler?" Linka asked.

"Ugh, yes, L-Linka?" he asked.

"Where is your bathroom?" she asked.

"Oh, there's one just down the hall on the left," he said.

"Thanks," she said.

There was an awkward silence between Clyde and Chandler.

"So, Clyde, how long have you and Linka been friends?" Chandler asked.

"Since we were six," Clyde answered.

"So, five years," Chandler said.

"Yep, we first met on Halloween," Clyde said.

"That's cool," Chandler said.

The attempt at conversation was a failure, but he did figure out that Clyde and Linka were friends for a long time. Maybe he should flat out ask him the question.

"So, Clyde, are you two dating," he asked.

Clyde looked at him and laughed like he heard the greatest joke in history.

"It's funny; I get that question a lot," Clyde said.

"That's a no?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah, we're just friends," Clyde said.

"Oh," Chandler replied.

"You, like her, don't you?"

Chandler's heart started to beat faster and faster, and he felt the temperature rise. It felt like it was over two-hundred degrees.

"What-What makes you ask that?" he questioned.

"You've seemed nervous around her the whole time I've been here, pretty much act the way I do around Loki, well your nose doesn't bleed, and you don't like a robot; but still," Clyde replied.

"Loki?" Chandler asked.

"Linka's oldest brother, that's the one who has my heart; even though he thinks he likes Ronnie Annie's older sister, Bobbie," Clyde answered.

"Oh," Chandler said.

"So, am I right?" Clyde asked.

"Well, don't tell her, but yeah," he said.

"Don't worry, and maybe I could help you."

"Help me?

"Yeah, she might like you a little bit too; she was excited to be coming over."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

"You aren't playing some prank on me, are you?"

"Trust me, I'm not a good prankster," Clyde said.

"I'm back," Linka said, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Hey Linka, I have to go," Clyde said.

"Why?" she asked

"My Dads need help with an antique, so that means me," Clyde said.

"That's alright, we can come back when we're done," Linka replied.

"No," Clyde started to say, "I mean, you should stay with Chandler and play games, you'll be bored anyway."

Linka moved her foot back and forth on the carpet as she looked down at it.

"Guess, you're right, see you later, Clyde," she said.

"Good, you two have fun," Clyde said, as he winked at Chandler.

"I'll take him to the door," Chandler said.

The two boys walked to the door.

"Why are you leaving?" Chandler asked.

"So you two can spend time to get to know each other," Clyde answered.

"Well, thanks, I owe you," Chandler said.

"Think nothing of it," Clyde said.

Chandler went back to sit next to Linka. Maybe Clyde did put him at ease because without him he seemed to be shaking and sweating.

"Hey Linka, are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, I could go for something," she said.

"Well, I remembered that I promised you a pizza," he said.

"That's really nice of you, " she replied.

"Whatever kind you want, I'll order it."

Linka and Chandler ate some pizza as they watched an episode of 'Arrgh' on TV. Something on the show made Chandler jump, and he accidentally bit his tongue.

"Are you alright," Linka asked.

"Yeah, I just bit my tongue; it hurts but nothing major," he said.

"Hold on, let me see, stick out your tongue," she commanded.

"What?" he asked.

"Just make sure it's not bleeding," she said.

He stuck his tongue out and Linka got close and looked at it. He could smell her coconut body wash and tomato sauce mixture.

"Yep, it's fine, you look cute when you stick your tongue out like that," she said.

"I'm what?" he asked.

"Uh oh, did I say that out loud?" she asked.

"No, I was wondering what you said, I couldn't hear you," he replied.

"Oh, I just say you were fine and you don't need to stick your tongue out anymore."

Linka sighed in relief. Meanwhile, Chandler felt like he was dreaming; she said he was cute.


	3. Chapter 3

** I got some inspiration and made a chapter! Thanks so much for reading. Hopefully, I'll think up something for the next one soon. Or someone has really good idea, I'll consider it. **

* * *

It was 4:15 in the morning. This wasn't a time Chandler would normally be up, but the red-head had let his affections for Linka get him into a situation he wasn't expecting.

A couple days earlier...

He was walking in downtown Royal Woods when he spotted Linka, easy enough to do in a small town. His instinct was to talk to her and see what she was doing. Especially as to why she was leaving a fishing specialty shop.

"Hey, Linka," he said.

His confidence in speaking to her had gone up, where he wasn't afraid to talk go up and say hello, at least.

"Hi Chandler," she said.

He could smell her body wash, it was a new scent: lemon and coconut.

"So, what are you doing at a fishing shop?" Chandler asked.

"Oh, my little brother, Leif, wants to go fishing, and nobody in the house wanted to take him," she explained.

"Which brother is that again?" Chandler asked.

"One of the twins, the boy who wears the shortalls and no shirt," Linka answered.

"So, you are taking him fishing?"

"He was so sad, and Mom and Dad didn't want him to go by himself because he wants to do it pre-sunrise. I decided to take him."

"You're such a nice sister."

"Thanks."

He noticed she didn't seem like she was in the spirit to go fishing.

"You don't like to fish to do you?" he asked.

"No, plus grabbing the fish creeps me out," she responded.

The next thing he asked jumped out of his mouth.

"How about I come with you guys, I can help with the fish," he declared.

"Really?" Linka asked.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"We are going in a couple days; you've gotta wake up early," she said.

"How early?" he asked

"Hmm, 4:30 in the morning," Linka replied.

"Okay, I'll go to bed early tomorrow night," Chandler said.

"Thanks, it'll be fun," she said, "I'll bring some food."

Back to the day

He didn't realize what he entered into doing until, after Linka reminded the next day. Now, he was up before the sunrise to go to a lake and fish. Then, his thoughts turned to think about being with Linka. That was something he was happy to do. He packed a backpack with few items, his father had let him borrow his fishing pole and tackle box.

It was cool outside, not chilly, the sky was still dark. It did seem like there was time until the sun was about to start rising. It's a small town; therefore, the streets had an eerie silence to them.

He stood at the Loud house, not feeling that he could ring the doorbell. Linka ultimately came out of the house a few minutes later. She was carrying a fishing pole and a bucket. The boy noticed that she was wearing blue shorts and an orange thin strap tank top, and rubber boots.

"You look nice," is what he wanted to say.

"Nice boots," is what he said.

"Thanks," she said.

Leif came out of the house, holding a blue tackle box and a matching fishing pole.

"Hey Chandler, I like your pole," Leif said.

"Uh thanks, It's my dad's," he said.

"We just got to wait for Skippy," Leif said.

"Who's Skippy?" Chandler asked.

"Well, Leif found out I was bringing a friend, and he wanted to bring one of his, so Skippy is coming, you don't mind?" Linka asked.

"I don't mind; I just thought you had another sibling going," Chandler said.

A kid with shaggy brown hair, blue long-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and a green hat that's worn backward, came out of the house holding a fishing rod and ajar.

"That's Skippy, so everyone is here," Linka said.

"Are we going now?" Chandler asked.

"Yep, wait, hold on, I've got to get one thing," Linka replied.

Chandler stood there with Linka's brother and his friend.

"Is Skippy your real name?" Chandler asked.

"No, it's my nickname," Skippy said.

"She's not a big fan of her real name," Leif said.

"Oh, Skippy's a girl," Chandler thought.

Linka came out with a backpack on her back, and they were on the go. The sky was getting lighter as the sunrise was about to happen. Chandler followed the other three as he didn't know where they were going in full.

It was called Walnut Lake, a great spot for fishing. There was no one else around. The only noise was that of the water sloshing back and forth, some crickets, and some early birds. They walked over to the wood deck that was placed for people to fish from.

"Wow, the sky is looking good," Linka replied.

The sky was getting lighter as daybreak was coming, it was nearly 5 in the morning.

"Hey Linka, you brought food, right?" Leif asked.

"Oh yes," she said.

He took her backpack off and opened it.

"I brought us breakfast, lunch, and some snacks," she said proudly.

"My sister is a great planner," Leif said to Skippy.

"Well, I try," she said.

Leif took off his shoes and set them aside. Linka instinctually took them and put them in her bag. She took out a cooler.

"Anyone hungry?" she asked.

Everyone else did say they were hungry.

Chandler bit into the BLT sandwich and loved how it tasted. It was simple, but there was something about how it tasted that made him want to savor every bite.

"Do you like it?" Linka asked.

"Yeah, it's really good," he replied.

"Glad you like it, I made them myself," she said.

"You made this?" he asked.

"Yep!" She replied.

He saw her warm smile and smiled back, himself. "She has such a cute smile, even her little chipped tooth is cute," he thought. His attention went to Linka's brother; he didn't want Leif to think he was creepily looking at his sister. In that fear, his attention turned back to his sandwich.

"I'm ready to fish!" Leif yelled.

"Go ahead, you know how to do it," Linka said.

The boy grabbed his fishing rod, putting a hook at the end of his line. Then he opened up the can he brought with him and grabbed something from the contents: a worm.

"Look, Linka nice, fresh worm," he said.

She scooted further to Chandler's side.

"Get that thing away from me!" she screamed.

"It's just a little worm; they're harmless," Leif said.

"I don't care; it's creepy," she replied.

He reached his arm over Linka and pointed the worm in Chandler's face. He gulped.

"Yeah, I don't like worms either, man," he said.

Linka pushed her brother's arm and caused the worm to fall into the water.

"Look at what you did," Leif complained.

"It's your fault; you shouldn't put worms in people's faces," she replied.

Leif took out another one and stuck in on his hook.

"Where'd you get these anyway," Skippy asked.

She was holding a worm in her hand, and seemingly petting it like it was a cat or dog. Chandler was slightly disturbed by that motion.

"I dug them up myself," Leif said.

Linka grabbed her fishing pole, opened the tackle box, chose a lure, popped open a can of sardines, put a piece of the mini fish on the lure and finally, she cast out her line. She gave Chandler a piece of sardine, which he used for his line.

The fish must have been early risers because they were accepting the worms and sardines. All four of them caught a fish within the first twenty minutes. Skippy had filled the bucket with some water to hold the fish.

"Look, Chandler, the sunrise is so pretty," Linka said.

He saw her smile again and liked how the sunlight hit her white hair, causing it to shimmer. To him, she looked like an angel.

"Chandler, Chandler," a voice called.

He felt something touching him and snapped out of his daze.

"Huh?" he asked.

"You sure do daydream a lot," Linka said.

"Oh yeah, I'm not used to waking up so early," he said.

She giggled.

"I was asking, do you want something to drink?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks," he answered.

It had been about 3 hours since they were out there, they had been out there while most of the world had been sleeping. It was a Saturday morning, so many would-be sleeping in, taking in the weekend.

"Are we eating these fish, or what?" Linka asked.

"How many did we get so far?" Leif asked.

"Nine," Linka responded.

"Most of them seem kind of small," Leif replied.

"Nah, we are just seeing how many we can catch, then we'll put them back," Leif replied, "Unless Chandler or Skippy want to take some home."

The fish catching had slowed down, and it was getting warmer as the day's heat was coming in. Chandler looked at his watch, he couldn't believe he was out there for nearly four and a half hours.

"Leif, what are you doing?" Linka asked.

The six-year-old boy was standing in the lake, water going up to where his ankles met the bottom of his short-alls.

"This water feels good," Leif said.

"Aren't you going to disturb the fish?" Linka asked.

"Nah, people stand in boots all the time, catching fish," he replied.

Skippy was watching one of the worms, she'd taken out, inching along with the wood. Her eyes were entranced on the creature. Linka felt something on her arm, she looked down and saw the worm.

"Ahhh!" she screamed.

She tried to shake the worm off her hand but lost her balence and fell into the water.

"Linka!" Screamed Chandler.

Without a thought, he jumped into the water to save her. In the water, he noticed that Linka was fine because she could swim. "She's fine? I'm such an idiot," he thought. Linka started to laugh.

"Are you alright?" Leif asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Linka yelled.

"How about you, Chandler?" Leif called.

"Yeah, I'm alive," Chandler said.

Linka saw over to Chandler and smiled.

"That was sweet of you to want to save me," she said.

"I feel like an idiot," he said.

"Did I say that out loud?" he asked himself.

"Aww, no, no, you jumped into action to save me; that is really sweet of you," Linka said.

"Yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm."

They both swam back over to the dock and leaped back on.

"I'm really sorry, Linka," Skippy said.

"It's okay, Skip, you're alright," Linka said.

Chandler took off his shirt and squeezed the water out of it, then he removed his shoes and socks to let those dry as well. Linka removed her boots and poured the water out.

"Guess we gotta dry out," she said.

Chandler chuckled, he did find it funny in a way.

Unexpected to him she had walked over and hugged him for a while.

"Thanks, hero, maybe next time, we should go swimming for real," she said.

The boy lost his focus he could only feel her arms on his skin even though, she was soaked he thought she felt warm. He had a goofy smile on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

Loni knocked on Linka's door, calling her name.

"Loni, what is it?" she called through the door.

"I have something for you," the second eldest Loud boy said.

The white-haired girl opened the door and saw her brother standing there holding an orange sundress.

"What do you think?" the teenager asked.

"I don't know; I don't think it's your right size," Linka replied.

"No, it's for you, for your date," he said.

"I'm going the movies, and it's not a date," Linka said.

"I think if I saw a girl wearing this, I'd sweep her off her feet," Loni replied.

"Then go find a girl, stick in her that dress, and sweep her off her feet," Linka repled.

The teenage boy seemed to quiver and give her a puppy dog pout.

"I'm sorry, I feel what I have on is fine; leggings so my legs don't get cold, and that zip-up hoodie if I get cold," she explained.

"No, No, No, you don't take the hoodie, the boy is supposed to give you his when you get cold, it's so romantic," Loki replied.

The eldest Loud boy was eavesdropping on his siblings.

"It's not a date, Loki," Linka replied.

"Aren't you going to the movie with that red-head?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't think it was date if I was going out with Clyde or Stanley," she said.

"Hmm, maybe with Stanley," Loni said.

"Or Clyde and Stanley," Loki replied.

"They would be cute together," Loni replied.

"You two sound like girls, you know," Linka said.

"Anyway, don't bring the hoodie, let Chandler you give you his," Loki said.

"He doesn't wear hoodies; he has the long-sleeved shirt," Linka explained.

"I'll give him one of mine then, he can give it to you when you get cold," Lynn replied.

"That's a great idea, Lynn," Loki said.

"But I could just bring mine, and if I get cold then, I can put it on," Linka said.

"That's not the point; it's for the boy to show that he cares," Loki replied.

"You guys are bugging me, you know?" Linka said.

"We're trying to help you," Loki said.

"Thanks, but it's just me going out to see a movie with a friend," Linka said.

The girl grabbed her hoodie and grabbed it around her waist, turned off her lights, and left her room. Then she noticed her little brother, Lexx standing by his door.

"Hey, big sister, do you have money?" he asked.

It was a strange question because Lexx had his stash of money, and he wouldn't ask people for money in such a manner.

"Oh yeah, it's here in my pocket," she answered.

"Not in your purse?" Lexx asked.

"No, why would I need a purse, when pockets will do?" she asked.

"I don't know; I like carrying stuff in my bag," Lexx said.

"Good for you, so what do you want?" She asked.

"Nothing just was making sure you were alright for your date," he said.

"It's not a date, stop listening to Loki all the time," Linka replied.

"Hey Linka, what movie are you seeing anyway?" Lynn asked.

"It's not a date!" Linka yelled.

"Whoa, calm down there, I was just asking what movie you were going to see," Lynn said.

"Sorry, I'm just a little annoyed," Linka said, "We're going to see Rise of the CatDonkies 2."

"Ah, that's a good one; I laughed at that whole thing," he said.

"Don't tell me how it goes," she said.

"Too bad, it's not a scary movie, then when you get scared, you can curl up into Chandler's arms," Loni replied.

"Stop teasing her, she's just going out with a friend, guys and girls can be friends without all that mush, you know?" Lynn said.

"Wait, you are saying, I shouldn't be teased?" Linka asked.

"I know how annoying they can be," Lynn replied.

"Thanks, Lynn," Linka said.

"Sure thing," he said, as lightly punched her in the arm.

Downstairs, she sat on the couch and waited for the doorbell to ring. Her brother, Leif, came in the door holding a new bug in a jar.

"Hey, Sis, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for Chandler to go to the movies, and no, it's not a date," she replied.

"I wasn't going to say that, It's like when I hang around Skippy, and everyone thinks she and I are dating," the boy replied.

"Sorry, I see you have a new bug there," she replied.

"Yeah, I think it's a moth," he said.

"Are you sure, it's not a butterfly? It looks colorful," she asked.

"Moths can be colorful too," Leif said.

He set the jar down on the coffee table and started looking at it.

"I'm going to set her free soon; what movie are you going to anyway?" he asked.

"CatDonkies 2," she answered.

"That's great, don't tell me what happens, I'm waiting to go with Lexx," he replied.

"I promise," she replied.

"Why aren't you going with Clyde?" Leif asked.

"His parents don't think the movie would be appropriate for him or something," she replied.

"That's too bad, Chandler is cool though," Leif replied.

"You think so?" Linka asked.

"Well, yeah, he got up early just go fishing with us."

Lynn ran the stairs and jumped over the banister, holding a basketball, and cheering as he landed on his feet.

"Mom told you to stop doing that," Levi said.

"Mom told you to stop testing random things on Loni, would be a shame if she found out," Lynn said.

"Noted," Levi replied.

"You were out of your league, Levi," Lexx said.

"I'm going out to shoot some hoops!" Lynn shouted.

He ran outside, where he saw the redhead walking up to their house.

"Well, look it's Chandler," he said.

"Hey, uh, sorry I'm not good with remembering names," he said.

"Lynn, my name is Lynn, you should wait here, I think it would be better than you entering that house," Lynn replied.

"Why?" Chandler asked.

"A couple of my brothers have been kind of teasing Linka about this whole going to the movies thing with you; so, I'll bring her to you," he said.

"Thanks," Chandler replied.

"I don't want them to hound you too," Lynn added.

"Why are you being kind to me?" he asked.

"If my sister thinks you're a good person, then I think you are," Lynn said.

The alethic boy walked inside the house while Chandler waited.

"Lynn, I don't know why you want me to come outside," Linka said.

After Lynn pushed Linka out and closed the front door he pointed at Chandler.

"Chandler's here?" Linka asked.

"Yep," Lynn said.

"You didn't bring me out here to make fun of us, did you?" Linka asked.

"No way, I did it to let you guys go without all that teasing inside," Lynn said.

"That's very nice of you Lynn, " Linka said.

"Well, sometimes I have a mushy caring side, now go on, before you miss your movie," Lynn replied.

Linka hugged her older brother and kissed him on the cheek.

"Yuck, and in public too," Lynn said.

"Love you too, bro," she said.

She ran over to Chandler and they walked away. He waved at them and went back into the house to tell his brothers that Linka went out and to get his basketball back.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's a new chapter! Happy Valentine's Day!

* * *

"Why don't you invite your little friend over for dinner?" That question swirled around the redhead's thoughts for a few days. His mother had suggested that he should invite Linka over to their house for dinner.

"You've had me over to your house for dinner, many times, why are you having such a hard time, trying to ask this girl?" Lance asked.

"It's different than aksing you or Trent over," he said.

"We're your friends, right?" Lance asked.

"Yeah," Chandler responded.

"She's a friend, right?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, and your point?"

"Invite her over to your house, like a friend," Lance suggested.

"But, I don't have a crush you," Chandler replied.

Linka happened to be walking down the hallway where Chander and Lance were talking. The light brown-haired boy stopped Linka in her tracks.

"Hey, you're Linka, right?" he asked.

"Man, what are you doing?" Chandler whispered.

"Yeah, I'm Linka," she said.

"Good, well I'm Lance, Chandler's friend, and he's having some friends over for dinner in a few days, would you like to come over?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, that sounds cool, as long as Chandler's alright with you asking like that," Linka replied.

All Chandler could do was nod like an idiot.

"Cool, You get all the details soon," Lance said.

Linka continued going where she was going. Chandler was babbling something to himself.

"Now, tell your Mom that Linka can come over and pick a date," Lance said.

"Dude, why did you do that?" Chandler asked.

"You know you wanted her to come over, might as well have her meet your parents before the wedding," Lance said jokingly.

"Wedding?" Chandler asked.

"Calm down, loverboy, maybe I should come over after all," Lance said.

"For dinner?"

"No, to change your oil."

It was the night of the dinner. Lance was over the McCann house helping Chandler.

"Maybe, I should dress differently," Chandler said.

"No, you're fine, you didn't say this was a formal dinner," Lance replied.

The doorbell rang. Chandler ran to see who it was, but his mother answered the door. There, in the doorway, stood the white-haired girl she was wearing a light orange dress with black shoes. Chandler gulped.

"Well, you must be Linka, you look very nice, come on in," his mother said.

"Maybe, I should change," Chandler whispered to Lance.

"I don't know if you put on an orange dress you might clash," Lance joked.

Linka walked over to the two boys.

"Hey Chandler, I hope this dress isn't too fancy, my brother wanted me to wear it," she said.

"Oh, no, no, no, it's fine," Chandler sputtered.

"And you're Lance, right?" She asked the other boy.

"Yep," Lance said.

"Dinner will be in about 20 minutes, kids," Mrs. Mccann said.

"Thanks, Mom," Chandler said.

"Was I early?" Linka asked.

"Huh? No, we're waiting for my Dad to come home," Chandler said.

"What does he do anyway?" Linka asked.

"He works at the sewage treatment plant," Chandler replied.

"He could take you behind the scenes one day," Lance said.

"I don't think-," Chandler started to say.

"Really? That sounds so cool," Linka said.

"Really?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah, that sounds cool," the girl replied.

"Well, I guess maybe one day, you could come for a tour," Chandler replied.

"Do you think I could bring Clyde, too?" she asked.

"Ugh, sure."

Linka sat at the table across from Chandler and Lance. His father was at one end and his mother at the other. They were having fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and Brussel sprouts.

"Linka, I think I've met your mother before, at the dentist's office?" Chandler's mother said.

"Was it 's office?" Linka asked.

"Yeah, it was, she's the blond lady with the notebook in her hands?" Chandler's mother asked.

"Yeah, that's her," Linka said.

"You know, Mrs. McCann, Linka has ten brothers," Lance replied.

"Ah now, I remember your family," Chandler's mother said.

Linka didn't know to take that sentence as good or bad. Chandler was worried that his mother might not like Linka or something.

"You live in a mansion or something?" Chandler's dad asked.

"No, it's a normal house, it has only one bathroom, though," Linak replied.

"I'd hate to live with just one bathroom," he said.

"We don't talk about sewage at the dinner table," his wife said.

"I know, we don't talk about politics at the table," he joked.

"This dinner is really good, Mrs. Mccann," Linka said.

"Thanks, sweetie, there's plenty," Mrs. Mccann replied.

"Yeah, this is really good," Lance said.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, I don't want to embarrass Chandler, why is your hair white?" Chandler's mother asked.

"It's just that color, I'm not sure why it is," Linka replied.

"So, it's not dyed?" Chandler's father asked.

"Nope," Linka replied.

Then it was dessert time, Chandler's mother had made key lime pie. It had seemed for Chandler that this dinner had gone well enough. He could feel some of the tension releasing from his body. After dinner, Chandler offered to take care of the dishes, and Linka decided to help him.

"All we have to do is rinse the stuff off and put it in the dishwasher," he said.

"I wish our family had one of these," Linka replied.

"You guys have only one bathroom and no dishwasher? Your family likes to rough it, don't they?" Chandler asked.

"It's not that bad," Linka said with a giggle.

Some water splattered on Linka's dress as Chander turned on the sprayer.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"It's alright it's just some dots of water; everything is fine," she said.

"You didn't buy that for tonight, did you?" he asked.

"No, my brother, Loni made this," she said.

"Your brother makes dresses?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah, actually, he can make almost any type of clothing," she said with pride.

"That's cool," Chandler said.

In his mind, he was proud of himself being able to hold to a conversation with her/ and not stumble his words. They loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, put away the leftovers, and we're done.

"Thank you so much," Chandler's mother said.

"You're welcome, Mrs. Mccann," Linka said.

"You are so polite," the woman said.

"Guess I should call my parents to see when they are picking me up," Linka said.

"Hope you had a good time, you are welcome back anytime, it's nice that Chandler has a little girlfriend," his mother said.

Both kids' faces turned red as the woman walked out of the kitchen. They were silent for a minute as they collected their thoughts.

"Obviously, she meant a friend who is a girl, like Lance is a friend who is a boy and not girlfriend as in dating," Chandler said.

"Yeah, of course, we are friends, you are a friend who is a boy, like Clyde," Linka replied.

"Exactly," Chandler said.

"You know, it wouldn't be bad if it was the other way, either, not that I am saying it is," she replied.

Lance walked into the kitchen, maybe at the right time.

"Guys, are you done?" he asked.

"Yeah, all done," Chandler said.

"Yep, I'm going to call for my ride," Linka said.

Lance waited for her to be out of hearing distance.

"You were worried about nothing, your parents didn't do anything embarrassing, and you didn't fall apart," he said.

"Yeah," Chandler said.


	6. Chapter 6

_**I guess, I had a burst of inspiration for this story, so here is a new chapter. Just in time for the middle of summer! Guess, this is like a beach episode or something. **_

* * *

Royal Woods had been experiencing a heatwave for the past week. Chandler didn't want to anything but stay in his air-conditioned house and relax. That was until his phone rang, and a certain white-haired girl was the caller.

"Hey, Chandler, are you busy tomorrow?" she asked.

"No, I'm not," he said joyfully.

"Cool, would you like to come to the beach with me, we can spend a day there," she said.

"I...the beach, I, yeah, I guess I can go, when?" he asked.

"I want to get there early before it gets crowded; I'll call you later with the time and stuff," she said.

"Ok," he said.

* * *

After the call, he smacked his face. Linka Loud had the power to make him say things he didn't want to say. Going to the beach wasn't his idea of a fun time. He didn't like the idea of being on some sand or in the water. Quickly, he grabbed his phone and made another call.

"Lance, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Uh, talking on the phone, what's wrong with you, Dude?" Lance asked.

"I did something stupid," he said.

"You burned down the house?" Lance joked.

"No, I said I would go to the beach with Linka, tomorrow," Chandler answered.

Lance laughed hard almost to the point of going into a coughing fit.

"It's not that funny."

"I'm sorry, it's just that you never go to the beach, you complain about everything having to do with it."

"Yes, what should I do?"

"Burn down your house, that way you have an excuse why you can't go."

"I'm sure my parents would love that, be serious."

"You are the one who likes that girl, and she just asked you out."

"I need to get to the mall, come with me."

"Why?"

"I need to get some swim trunks; I don't have any.. that fit."

"Sure, that's how I want to spend my day."

"I'll pay for lunch."

"I'm there."

* * *

Chandler and Lance were at Royal Woods Mall at a store looking for swim trunks for the red-head.

"Hey, you should wear these," Lance said.

Lance was holding up a boy's sized speedo while laughing.

"Be serious," Chandler growled.

"Linka might appreciate how European you'd look," he said.

"Then you buy it for yourself," Chandler said.

"Hey, I'd look good, I look good in anything," Lance bragged.

"Then you should wear that," Chandler said.

The chestnut-haired boy looked at the two-piece swimsuit Chandler was pointing at with his fingers.

"Like, I said, I'd look good in anything," Lance replied.

"Why are we friends?" Chandler asked.

"Because I complete you."

Chandler rolled his eyes. He looked over and grabbed a pair of green trunks.

"I guess, I'll get these," he said.

"Are you expecting guests?"

"What?"

"You'll have room for, like five guys in there."

Chandler looked around for something his size and grabbed another pair of green trunks.

"Good, now we can go," he said.

"You should try them on; see how they look before you pay," Lance said.

Chandler ran his left hand down his face.

"Ugh, I'll try them on after I buy them, and if I don't like them, I'll come back here and exchange them," he said in an angry tone.

"There's still time for you to fake being sick," Lance replied.

"No, I couldn't do that."

"Here you go, these are your size," Lance replied.

"What?"

"Sandals: they're good for the beach unless; you are flip-flops guy."

"I'm a stay inside and play video games on a hot day, guy."

"Guess, you should pay, I'm getting hungry."

Chandler and Lance walked back to his house. The two boys were sweaty, and their skin was slightly red. Chandler flopped down on the couch with Lance following after.

"This air feels nice," Lance said.

"See, I told you," Chandler responded.

"Trust me, I love the invention of indoor cooling, but we'll have fun tomorrow."

"We?"

"You don't want me to come with you; you don't know if Linka is brining her family or something with her."

"I don't remember if she said she was or wasn't."

"I'd be lonely."

"You could hang out with Trent or Boy Jordan."

"Trent is busy at some weird geek camp or something, and Boy Jordan is with his family in New Jersey."

"Fine, we are best friends."

Chandler looked over at the bag filled with trucks and the sandals and let out a sigh.

"You going to try it on?" Lance asked.

"No, I'm sure it will fit," Chandler replied.

"You should try on the trunks; you don't want an embarrassing situation to happen unless this is a nude beach."

"Fine," Chandler moaned.

* * *

The next morning had a slight break from the heat of the day. Lance came over to Chandler's house, and he was holding a bag with stuff to the beach.

"You are wearing your beach clothes, already?" Chandler asked.

"Of course, it's better than changing down there," Lance replied.

"What's in the bag?" Chandler asked.

"Some snacks, sunscreen, extra clothes, oh, my Mom said it was alright if I could sleepover," Lance answered.

"I'm sure my parents won't mind," Chandler responded.

"What's in your bag?"

"Lunch, drinks, towels, beach blankets, sunscreen, portable spray fan, and some other junk."

"Well, get your trunks and sandals on, and let's go."

"I wish it would rain."

Lance and Chandler had made to the beach. The crowds hadn't shown up yet. Chandler even noticed that Linka hadn't made it. "If she's not going to be here, I'm leaving," he thought.

"Look, there's a spot," Lance replied.

"There's a whole bunch of spots, and Linka isn't here," Chandler replied.

"Now, hold on, she might be running late," Lance replied.

"That's the only reason we are here," Chandler said.

"I thought it was to enjoy the greatness of the sea and the atmosphere."

Chandler glared at him.

"I saw it in a commercial," Lance replied.

They both laid on blankets as the temperature started to rise into the mid-'80s. It had been about 30 minutes, and Linka still hadn't shown up.

"Did you text her?" Lance questioned.

"No," Chandler said.

"I hope this is the right beach," Lance replied.

"I guess I'll text her; I didn't want to seem too eager."

"You, too eager with Linka?"

Lance got up and decided to take a swim. The beach was getting more crowded as the day got hotter. Chandler was getting bored as he laid on the blanket, squirting himself with water from the portable fan.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind.

He knew that voice from an instant, he turned his head and saw her, Linka Loud. She was standing there wearing a two-piece swimsuit, the top and bottom were the color orange. She also had a friend with her, Stella. Stella had just moved to Royal Woods in the middle of the school year. She had ended up joining Linka's crew. She was wearing a one-piece red swimsuit.

"Hey... Hey Linka," Chandler replied.

"Sorry, for being late, but Stella wanted to come along, hope you don't mind," she said.

"Oh no, nice to see you," Chandler replied.

"Same," Stella replied.

"Nice spot, you picked, gonna set up," Linka replied

"I'm going to hit the water," Stella said.

"'Kay!"

"Uh, your swimsuit looks cute, Linka," Chandler managed to say.

"Thank you, my brother, Loni made it for me; this is my first time wearing a two-piece," she said, "I like your trunks, they look brand-new."

"Ha, yeah," Chandler replied.

Linka set up two beach blankets for herself and Stella. Chandler spent his time spraying himself with the fan until he had to refill it. He looked over at this phone it said it was 90 degrees. He grabbed a bottle of water to do the refilling then he noticed Linka wiping her forehead from the head.

"Do you want something to drink; I brought plenty," he said.

"That's nice of you, sure," she said.

He noticed how she drank pop from a can, she held it to the side of her nose, so the pop-top wouldn't press up against it. He thought it was kind of cute. He was more a press it up against his nose, kind of guy. Lance ran over.

"That water feels good, oh, hey Linka," he said.

"Hi, Lance, " she said.

"You finally made it; Chandler's been talking about you the whole time," Lance replied.

Chandler kept shaking his head, hoping his friend would notice and stop talking.

"Aww," she said.

"Alright, I'm going to swim, come on Lance," Chandler said.

"I'm good; someone has to watch to this stuff anyway, you go...ow," Lance replied.

Chandler grabbed his arm.

"I'll watch your stuff, go have fun," Linka said.

"What did I do?" Lance asked.

"You almost embarrassed me there; I can't have her thinking I'm some weird guy, obsessing over her," Chandler explained.

"To be fair, you kind of..." Chandler hit his friend in the arm.

Lance hit him back.

"Sorry, Dude, I just kind of get ... well, you know," Chandler replied.

"Well come on, let's swim, since you are so eager to," Lance said.

"But I really..."

Chandler found that the heat dried him out very quickly. He was sitting on the blanket with Lance, eating sandwiches.

"Your Mom makes the best sandwiches," Lance said.

"I always feel she buys them premade and just passes them off as her own," Chandler replied.

"I think the heat is getting to you; I'm going to buy us some ice cream cones," Lance stated.

"Ok, I want a..." Chandler started to say.

"I know, I know, a strawberry cone with chocolate sprinkles," Lance replied.

Linka came back from the water. She grabbed a towel and started to towel off. Chandler kind of glanced, but kept his focus on his phone.

"It's hot," he said.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I'm saying it's hot," he replied.

"Yeah, it totally is," she said.

"I wonder if it will rain."

"My brother, Levi, says there's no chance of it."

"Is he a weatherman?"

"No, but he seems to know his stuff."

Linka went to reapplying sunscreen. "Talking about the weather, why am I being such an idiot," Chandler thought. "She must think I'm uncool." Once again, he was kind of lost in his thoughts. Until he felt something tap on his shoulder.

"Chandler, could you help me with my lower back, I'd hate to get a sunburn right there?" she requested.

"Uh sure," he said.

He grabbed the tube of sunscreen and squirted into his hand. It was only after Linka had turned around her back to face him, that he would be touching her back. He gulped. "She did ask me to help, so, she won't mind," he thought. So, he started to rub the sunscreen on her back. "Her skin is soft," he thought. The time seemed longer than it was, but he was done as quickly as it started.

"Thank you, here, let me help you do yours," she said.

"You to do my back?" he asked.

"Mmm, yeah, with the sun going that way it's a good idea, and friends help each other out," she said.

"Her smile could sell sand to a man who lives in the desert," he thought.

"I guess that makes sense," he said.

He sat down, as Linka went to his back and started rubbing sunscreen on it. He could feel her hands going on his back. "Of course her hands are soft, but she is kind of rough," he pondered. After a minute she was done.

"There you go, fully protected from the sun," she said.

"Thanks," he said.

She sat down and looked at her phone and giggled. Chandler didn't want to pry by asking her what was funny. He looked at his phone.

"Hey, we should take a picture together," she said.

"Uhh, us?" he questioned.

"Of course, silly," she replied.

"Yeah," he replied.

She walked over and sat right next to him. Her left arm went behind his neck to the left shoulder. Her phone was in her right hand and she held that in front of them.

"Smile," she sang.

He was slightly distracted by her scent a mixture of coconut and sunscreen. He smiled as she took the picture.

"Done, I'll send it to you," she said.

Lance came back he was holding two ice cream cones, also joining him was Stella who seemed to have the same idea.

"I have ice cream," he said.

"Thanks, Dude," Chandler said.

Linka and Stella had decided to go join a volley ball game, it was mostly Stella's idea but Linka couldn't really refuse. Chandler and Lance stayed there saying they'll watch the stuff.

"What are you looking at?" Lance asked.

"It's nothing," Chandler said.

"Doesn't seem like nothing; you found a new game didn't you?" Lance asked.

"Yeah sure," he said.

"Let me see."

"My battery is... hey!"

"Oh I see, you and Linka took some pictures together, you two make a cute couple."

"Cut it out!"

"We should take one together, best friends at the beach!"

* * *

About an hour later...

Lance had fallen asleep on the blanket and from the summer heat. Chandler was playing a game on his phone. The beach was a little more bearable as a breeze carried cool air from the water.

"Is he alright?" Linka asked.

"Yeah, he was up really early," Chandler said.

"He might have a good idea, that volleyball game tired me out," she said.

"You were pretty good."

"I think you confused me with someone else, I'm not good at sports. My Brother has tried."

She laid down and looked up at the sky. She loved that it was so clear and blue.

"Glad you came to hang out with me today," she said.

"Oh, uh, yeah sure, any time," Chandler replied.

"Especially, for someone who doesn't seem interested in the beach at all," she said.

"Huh, what makes you say that?"

"You've mostly spent your time in that spot."

"I uh... just don't like the heat very much."

"I kind of figured that too."

"I didn't ruin your time here, did I?"

"You think that? I was kind of worried, I had ruined your day."

"No, there's no way you could ruin my day."

Chandler rested on his blanket looking up at the sky. He started feeling something land on his face it was wet. His first thought was a wayward bird, but it wasn't anything gross. He stood up and looked around and started feeling more of this wet stuff on him. He noticed the sky was still blue, but there we clouds.

"It's raining?" he questioned.

Quickly, he picked up stuff and put it into the bag. Lance was still sleeping. Then he couldn't feel the wet stuff anymore.

"Hmm, maybe I overreacted," he thought.

"What are you doing?" Stella asked.

"Huh? I'm uh, getting ready to go swim again; since Lance is sleeping, I'm securing my stuff, it's very valuable, you know?" he said.

In his mind, he believed she was internally rolling her eyes at him. Because of his lie, he had to get back into the water again, maybe next time he'd think of a better cover story. He took off his sandals and walked on the hot sand, he kept skipping. Eventually, he made it into the water. It was alright, on a 96-degree day, it felt about 20 degrees cooler.

"This is kind of fun," he thought.

"I already knew you weren't a bad swimmer," Linka said.

She had remembered the time he jumped in the water to "save" her. He blushed slightly. Then splashed water on her.

"Oh, it's on!" she yelled.

The two of them played for a while and didn't notice the changing conditions around them. When Chandler got out of the water only then did he notice the sky had turned slightly gray. He walked over to his spot. Lance was still sleeping. He dried off. Linka was still in the water with Stella, other people were still in the water as well. He was going to set back up his spot when he started feeling something wet fall on him again,

"Is the heat making me think that it's raining?" he asked himself.

"Ugh, stop doing that," Lance murmured.

Then Chandler heard some screams as it was indeed raining now. Lance woke up and noticed the rain. He got his stuff and packed it up.

"Wow, you are really quick," Lance said, referring to Chandler's stuff being packed.

Stella and Linka came running back over.

"Dang it, I didn't think it was going to rain," Linka said.

"Yeah really," Stella said.

"Come on, we can go to my house, it's close by," Chandler said.

Linka and Stella quickly grabbed their stuff and ran behind following Chandler and Lance. They made it to the McCann residence in about 15 minutes. Chandler gave everyone towels to dry off.

"I kind of expected you to live in a house like this," Stella said.

"Yeah, it's the best!" Lance said.

"I should call my parents to have someone pick me up," Linka replied.

"Where's your bathroom?" Stella asked.

"There's one down the hall, on the left," Chandler said.

"Thanks," she said. She had her bag in her hands.

Chandler and Lance looked out the window. The rain had picked up in the time they'd been inside.

"I think you somehow made it rain, Chandler," Lance said.

"Don't say stupid things," Chandler replied.

"My mom said she's coming over as soon as possible," Linka said.

"I'm sorry things ended earlier than planned," Chandler replied.

"Hey, it was fun, thanks for joining me, you two," Linka said.

"Sure, that was pretty fun," Lance replied.

Stella came back from the bathroom, she was dressed in her normal attire.

"That bathroom is really nice," Stella replied.

"Ugh, thanks," Chandler replied.

"Is your mom picking you up?" Linka asked.

"She's at work until 5," Stella answered.

"Oh, you can come with me, when my Mom picks me up," Linka replied.

"Ok."

"I'm going to change too," Linka said.

She walked over to her bag. It took her a while to look around inside it, and then she seemed to be panicking.

"I swore I put my dress in this bag," she said.

"Check if it got wrapped up into the blanket," Stella said.

"I'm going to shower off, is that alright?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, but use my bathroom," Chandler replied.

"I know, I know," the boy replied.

"Dang it, I must have forgotten to put into the bag when I set up my area," Linka replied.

"What's wrong?" Chandler asked.

"I left the dress, I used to cover up at the beach," she said solemnly.

"Oh dang, was that your only clothes? " he asked.

"Yeah, guess I'll have to ride back like this," she said.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," he said.

As quick as he had left, he came back holding a stack of clothes.

"Do you need shoes?" he asked.

"Nah, I have those," she said.

"Here you go, you can borrow these, and bring them back when you can, they're all clean," he said with a smile.

"Oh, Chandler, that's sweet of you," she said.

She looked at the yellow long-sleeved shirt, black pants, white socks, some boxers. He pretended he was looking when she saw those.

"Hey, does that bathroom have a shower, I want to rinse the sand off before I change?"

"No, but there's another bathroom upstairs, you can use, I'll show you where," he said.

Stella and Chandler were watching some TV, he had given her a sandwich to eat as well. Chandler was shivering, since he hadn't had a chance to get dressed , yet.

"You must like Linka, a lot, don't you?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, she's a good friend," he replied.

"I mean really like," she replied.

"I don't know what you are talking about; maybe I really like you," he said.

"Trust me, I can tell, you seem to melt every time you are around her, it's like when Linka's friends first saw me," she said.

"It depends would you tell her if I admitted it to you?" he asked.

"Nah, you don't have to admit anything to me, I just know you do," she replied.

Linka came back downstairs, she put her swimsuit in her bag and found her friends watching TV.

"You have a nice shower, it doesn't seem to lose hot water quickly, like mine," she replied.

"Yeah, our system can handle simultaneous uses of hot water," Chandler answered.

Stella giggled.

"Hey my clothes fit you pretty well," he said.

"Yeah, I'm surprised, guess we are a match," she said.

Then she walked over and hugged the boy.

"Thank you, I'll bring them back cleaned, tomorrow," she said.

"Take your time, I have tons of clothes," he said.

Linka and Stella left after Mrs. Loud was able to come and pick them up. The rain had lightened up but didn't stop for hours.

"You let your girlfriend borrow your clothes, huh?" Lance joked.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Chandler yelled.


	7. Chapter 7

Another new chapter , enjoy!

* * *

Chandler looked in the mirror to double check if his shirt was alright, he picked the dark green one with white gears on it. He also wanted to make sure he was wearing pants, since he was kind of nervous and couldn't feel his legs.

"You look nice, Sweetie," his mother said.

"Thanks, Mom," he said.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"I guess so," he said.

He breathed out and breathed in, took a breath mint and popped it into his mouth. Meanwhile, he put the rest of the roll in his pocket , the one that wasn't holding his keys and phone. He went into the family room to see his parents.

"Lookin' good Chandler," his father said.

"Thanks,"he said.

His Mom came into the family room, she was holding a dish. It was a purple and white rounded rectangle shaped covered dish.

"Mom, I'm going to the Louds for dinner, I think they already made it," he said.

"Oh, Chandler, no, it's proper manners to bring something, " she said.

"Did you make enough, there's 13 people over there?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't have to take that with him.

"Of course, I made enough," she said.

"What is it anyway?" her husband asked.

"Dessert, mini cheese cakes," she replied.

"Ah, they are going to love it as much as I do," he said.

She swatted his hand away from the dish.

"There's more in the fridge," she said.

"My stomach hurts," Chandler said.

"That just means you're hungry," his father replied.

"You'll have fun, you like that girl right?" his mother asked.

"She's a friend,Mom," he said.

"That's good, I usually hate my friends," his father made a joke, "Or is that I only like my enemies."

"I'll be your enemy if you eat any of those mini cheesecakes before dinner," Mrs. McCann said to her husband.

"You should get going, son, call me when it's time to be picked up," his dad said.

"Alright," he said.

"The fun thing about bridging that dish, you'll have an excuse to come back at a later date," his Mom said.

He said goodbye to his parents and walked out the door holding the container in his hands. It wasn't heavy, it was made of hard plastic, but it was well tended to and kept like new. It had the name ,McCann, in gold writing on two sides. He felt funny carrying the thing down the sidewalk. If someone saw him, what would they think? Eventually, he made it 1216 Franklin avenue and the nervous feeling made it back to system as he rang the doorbell. He worried about who would answer it.

Earlier in the Loud House, the Louds were getting ready for dinner. Lynn Sr. was making the food, the Loud boys were around doing random things. Linka was happy that Chandler was coming over for dinner, she was concerned her family scared the boy.

"Leif, you should really wear a shirt," Rita said.

"What, I'm clean, the overalls are clean, and Chandler has already seen me this way," Leif moaned.

"You should pick your battles, Mom, he did take a bath,"Lexx, Leif's twin, said.

"Yeah, anything to make Linka's boyfriend happy," Loki said.

"He's not my boyfriend, he's a friend like, Clyde," Linka replied.

"He's not like Clyde, at least, he doesn't drool looking at me,"Loki replied.

"To be honest, all of Linka's friends are kind of weird," Lane said, through his marinette Ms. Coconuts.

Linka rolled her eyes.

"Alright, leave your sister alone, boys," their mother said.

"I don't know why she's inviting him, anyway, the boy looks like a jerk, " Lynn Jr. said.

"Hey, he's pretty cool, he went fishing with us, and he jumped into the water when he thought Linka was in danger," Leif said.

Chandler stood there staring at the door; he had to ring the bell sometime. He put the container in one hand and held it carefully, since the lid wasn't one of those that snapped closed. With his other hand, he pressed the doorbell. With a gulp, he could feel time feel slower and like his soul was escaping his body. The doorknob turned, and the door opened.

"You made it," Leif said.

"Yeah," he said.

Sometimes he wished he was better with remembering names. He smiled and made sure the container was secure in both of his hands.

"Leif, who is it?" a voice said in the background.

"It's Chandler!" he yelled.

"Well let him in," Rita said.

"I thought he was just going to walk in," Leif said.

"Sorry about that, Leif, I was making sure I didn't drop this," Chandler said.

The boy walked into the house and could feel the eyes of 9 boys staring at him, Leif was staring at the dish in his hand. Chandler wanted to jump out of his skin.

"What's that?" Leif asked.

"What's what?" Chandler asked, looking around.

"In your hands, silly," Leif replied.

"Oh, yeah, my Mom made mini-cheesecakes, she said I should bring something, since I'm a guest, " he replied.

"That was nice of you, I put them in the fridge," Lynn Sr. said.

"Thanks, and nice to see everyone, again," he said.

"It's a pleasure to have you over, Chandler," Rita replied.

"Hey Chandler, you've met my brothers, Loki, Loni, Luke, Lane, Lynn, Lars, Lexx, Levi, Leon, and of course, Leif, who answered the door," Linka replied.

He scanned the room to remember each name attached to each person. "The one with the look that seems like he doesn't want to be there, is Loki. The one with sunglasses,Loni, Luke is the one with the faux hawk, Lane is the one with the braces and uncomfortable looking shorts, Lynn was wearing red, Lars had eyes you couldn't see, Lexx was wearing pink, Leif had a cap and no shirt on, Levil was wearing glasses, Leon was a baby,"he thought.

"Chandler!" He heard his name get called.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Wash your hands, it's time to eat," Luke said.

"Where's the …?" he started to ask.

"Upstairs, straight down the hall, can't miss it," Luke said.

"Thanks, dude," he said.

He didn't see Linka around, so the gut feeling felt slightly better. That was until he saw Linka in the bathroom washing her hands.

"Oh you can come in, I'm just washing my hands," she replied.

"Ok," he squeaked.

"Hold your hands like a bowl," she said.

He complied and folded his hands out like they were a bowl, then she squirted some liquid soap into his hands. He lathered the liquid on his hands as she left the water on for him.

"I hope my family doesn't make you too nervous; I know they can be a little much," she said.

"They're alright I guess," he replied.

He didn't like what he said, so he tried to change what he meant.

"I mean I'll be fine," he replied.

"I think you washed them long enough," she said.

"Oh , ha, ha, yeah," he replied.

The two of them sprinted downstairs to the dining room. She smiled at him and pointed at the spot where he'd be sitting, right next to her, with Leif on the left. Sitting between Linka and Leif was probably the best place, he thought, since he at least knew them. He smiled as he sat down, but stopped because he thought his smile might be off putting.

"Presenting my famous Lynn-sagna," Lynn Sr. announced.

Chandler knew Linka's dad was a cook, and that he just started his own restaurant. Maybe his parents would go, one day. The man placed food on each plate, with ease, he did it without looking directly, but could place it right on the plate and not miss. Chandler was impressed. It smelled good and looked like lasagna.

"Here Chandler," Leif said, handing him the bottle of lemon-lime soda.

"Oh, thanks," he said.

He poured the liquid into the plastic cup sitting there on the table, he didn't want to spill it, and was already shaking. Carefully, he did it and accomplished a basic task as expected. He knew to hand the bottle to Linka.

"Here you go, Linka," he said in a soft voice."

"Eat up, everyone!" Lynn Sr. said, as he sat down.

The family started to tear into their food, like it was their first meal in years. Chandler instead, carefully grabbed his fork and broke a piece of lasagna from the rest of it and put it in his mouth. He chewed bite by bite and swallowed, you know, the basic functions of eating. It tasted different to his mother's lasagna, but she had some way of making hers slightly sweet along with savory. He did like how the Lynn-Sagna tasted. As he took his third bite, Leif was asking for seconds. Most of the family looked like they were done, except for Levi, who looked like he was disgusted by how his family ate, and the baby, who had most of the food on his face.

"So, Chandler, how do you like it?" Mr. Loud asked.

"It's good sir," Chandler was able to say.

"He's polite too," Rita remarked.

The boy felt that he had eyes on him, but didn't want to look up and see, he just looked down and took another piece of lasagna from the plate and ate it. "L.J slow down, before you choke," he heard Rita say. He didn't know which one was L.J but maybe he didn't want to find out.

"So, Mr. Loud so you sell this at your restaurant?" Chandler asked.

"As matter of fact, I do, why?" Mr. Loud asked.

"It's really good, I think my parents would enjoy this," he said.

"That's very kind of you," Mr. Loud said.

"So, what do your parents do?" Luke asked.

It was a casual question, it was to be expected.

"My dad works at the sewage treatment plant, he's the top manager," Chandler replied, "My Mom is the regional manager for some publishing company."

"Ew sewage," Lexx replied.

"Cool," Leif said.

"If you want a tour,I could ask my dad," Chandler replied.

"Do we get to go under the streets into the tunnels?" Leif asked.

"Of course," Chandler said.

"Wow!" Leif cheered.

Chandler felt good that he could make one of the Louds happy.

"What kind of publishing does your Mom do?" Lars asked.

"Uh, I think they do magazines and books," he said.

"Books, huh?" Rita asked.

"I think so," Chandler replied.

Rita and Lars looked at each other and then at him for a second. "Did I say something weird?" he thought. He took a drink of the soda.

"Can I have some more, Dad?" Lynn asked, "I need to load up , to burn off some calories later."

"Sure thing," Lynn Sr. said.

"Yo, Chandler, do you play any sports?" Lynn asked.

"No," Chandler answered.

"There's something you and Linka have in common," Lynn said.

"Shut up, Lynn," Linka said.

Chandler hadn't heard Linka use that word before, at least in a serious way. He didn't say anything else and finished his first course.

"What do you like to do Chandler?" Loni asked.

"Ugh, I like to play video games," he said.

"Yeah, he's really good at the arcade," Linka added.

"I heard you like to make clothes and stuff," Chandler said.

"Yeah, I do, it's totally fun to do, I should, like, make you something," Loni said.

"You don't have to," Chandler replied.

"It wouldn't bother me at all, I love doing that, any practice helps," Loni said.

"Do you like comedy, Kid?" Lane asked.

"I guess so," Chandler replied.

"You must, because that shirt really gets on my gears," he joked.

He heard everyone around him groan, taking it that they didn't really like that joke. He didn't get it until he remembered what his shirt had on it. He looked over at Linka and saw her face, she seemed more bothered than the rest of her family.

"Could I have some more?" Chandler asked.

"Sure," Lynn Sr. said.

"Hey I didn't get my seconds!" Lynn complained.

"Anybody else want more?" Lynn Sr. asked.

Some more hands raised up. The Loud father counted four more hands. He came back with a tray and placed cuts on Lynn Jr's, Luke's, Chandler's, Leif's, and "Lars' plates. Chandler ate his slice in slow bites again, while Lynn started downing his own. Something happened, the sports-inclined teenager started to make a sound.

"Chew your food, you animal!" Lexx yelled.

Lynn continued to make the sound. Chandler was the first to notice that Lynn wasn't playing around or eating too fast still. The boy was holding his throat, so he got up and ran over to Lynn without saying a word and performed the Helmich maneuver. Lynn coughed the food on his plate. Chandler handed him the cup of soda to drink.

"How did you know to do that?" Levi asked.

"My parents made me take this CPR class a couple years ago, my Mom says it's something about learning skills for the world," he said.

"Are you alright, Lynn?" Rita asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said.

"See, Father told you to eat slowly, Lynn," Lexx said.

"Quiet, Lexx!" Rita commanded.

"That boy...That boy…."Lynn repeated, he looked over at Chandler,"You saved my life!"

Chandler's heart rate switched from going fast, to beating slowly. The Loud boy scared him.

"Uh, it was nothing, I'm sure that someone would have helped if they had figured it out," Chandler said.

Lynn didn't really hear any of that as he decided the best thing to do was to get up and hug Chandler. Lynn didn't account for his own strength as he was squeezing the red head, but it was better than what Chandler thought would have happened with him and the Loud boy at some point.

"That's funny, that's two Louds, Chandler has saved," Leif said.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were a jerk, maybe you aren't."Lynn said.

"Maybe you should stop hugging him before we have to attend to him with CPR," Levi said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, Chandler," Lynn said.

Lynn seemingly, at least slightly, warmed up to him. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, and he still wasn't sure how most of the family felt about him. The family had dessert next, they were going to have Chandler's mother's mini-cheesecakes. He hoped that they at least wouldn't make anybody sick, he didn't want to be known as "that boy who brought the tainted cheesecakes". He hoped they wouldn't.

After dinner, Chandler was given a container of Lasagna to take home, sadly meaning the Loud Kids didn't have any leftovers for later. He sat on the porch stairs with the plastic container. Mostly, he wanted to get a break from being inside, and wanted to wait for his dad to come pick him up. He felt something tap his shoulder, and swatted it away thinking it was a bug.

"Sorry, Chandler, guess I should have said something first," Linka said.

"Hey Linka," he said.

She sat down to his left, and smiled at him. He smiled back for a second. He liked her smile, even if she had a chipped tooth, he liked it, it was perfect for her.

"I hope my family wasn't too much for you," she said.

"There's a lot of them, but no, I'm waiting for my Dad to pick me up, that's all,"he replied.

"I'm glad you wanted to come over for dinner," she said.

"It was fun, your dad is a good cook," he replied.

"Thanks," she said.

There was a slight awkward silence between the two of them. He looked down at the container,it belonged to the Louds. He thought for a moment.

"You should come over to my place for dinner, one night,"he replied

"Really?" she asked.

"Sure, I think you're cool," he replied.

"You think I'm cool?", she asked before she tried to cover it up with, "Yeah, that would be cool."

"Of course, I think you are cool, I like you Linka," he said.

His mind rewinded what he said, and repeated it. He said he liked her, just like that. He had been too confident in talking, and let it slip. He glanced without moving his head to see her reaction, if he could catch it.

"You do?" she asked.

She did hear him, he couldn't back track.

"Yeah, yeah I do, you are sweet, funny, and cool," he said.

She grabbed his left hand and laughed, that was a strange reaction to him.

"I think this is one of the first times your hand wasn't all trembly and sweaty,"she said.

"Uh, I never noticed," he said.

"That was pretty awesome what you did earlier."

"What did I do, earlier, oh your brother; like I said, I'm sure anyone else would have figured it out and done it."

"But, you reacted so quickly, and helped him out, that was great,."

"I'm happy he's alright."

"I hope Lynn learns not to eat so quickly."

He laughed cautiously, not to make it seem like he was making light of anything.

"Sure, I'll come over for dinner, sometime," she replied.

"That's great!" he said, "I mean, I'd like that."

She grabbed him and squeezed him from the side.

"Thank you for coming over, and your Mom made great cheese cakes."she said.

"Uhh- thanks- your-dad- made-great lasagna-" he said between breaths.

She released him, but only after she kissed him on the cheek. It was a quick one, but he knew it happened. It was like the first time he'd gone to her house. He still didn't know how to react or what one did after being kissed on the cheek, he nervously looked at her and decided to kiss her on the cheek as well.

"I wasn't expecting that," she said.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that…" he started to ramble.

"It's alright, I was just surprised," she said.

Soon, a blue car pulled up, it was Chandler's Dad to pick him up.

"See ya, later, Chandler," Linka said.

"Bye Linka," he said back.

He took the container, walked to the car, and got inside. That was a different evening, but he just did his first kiss, kind of, on a girl that wasn't his mother or grandmother. He was always going to remember that.


End file.
